Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Talapus and Olallie Lakes
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. From the parking area, head up the broad trail as it climbs through easy switchbacks for the first mile. As you cross into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness the route levels out through a broad bench that boasts a bit of a bog. As you move through this wet section, try to stay on the trail even if it's a bit muddy--better to dirty your boots than to erode more land around the trail. The trail soon sweeps across a small bridge (crossing the lake's outlet) just below Talapus Lake, then climbs the last few yards to the lakeshore at 3250 feet. Forests push in along the shores of this pretty lake, with talus tapering down to the water's edge on the far side. Anglers can wet their lines in this lake first, and families can find fine swimming opportunities along its banks. The trail climbs away from Talapus before traversing the valley wall, heading up the valley to Olallie. About 0.7 mile from Talapus, stay left at a small trail junction and proceed upvalley to the outlet of Olallie Lake. This pretty lake sits in a nice alpine basin, providing plenty of opportunities to enjoy cooling shade under the boughs of towering firs. It also offers sun lovers a chance to get warm while catching a few rays on the rocks along the shore.
Driving Directions:
From Seattle drive I-90 east to exit 45 (Forest Road 9030). Turn left under the freeway on FR 9030. In 1 mile bear right at the junction. Continue straight to the trailhead at the road's end. Recent Trip Reports
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Talapus and Olallie Lakes
— Jan 28, 2012
— john deer
Day hike
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We started at the Pratt Lake/Granite Mt trailhead donning snowshoes right from the start. They were not really necessary...
We started at the Pratt Lake/Granite Mt trailhead donning snowshoes right from the start. They were not really necessary then but I guess we needed the extra ankle weight for training purposes. There was one brushy blow down at the switchback near the avalanche gully (15 minutes from the cars). Bill and I cut a hole through but others may wish to bring a hand saw and improve the head clearance.
The creek crossings prior to the junction down to Talapus are still OK. There is one area with summer time bridges and the snow bridges are narrowing; a couple of people took an unpleasantly big step in one or two places. We continued about 1/3 mile past the trail junction to Talapus and then cut cross country down to the Ollalie Lake which was only 200 yards from the main trail at that point. Snowshoes were needed for this section. We enjoyed solitude and a nice lunch on the east side of the lake. At least 3 other groups were on the west side of the lake probably arriving via the exit 45 route. After lunch, Bill and I wanted to see how the crossing of the "creek of no return" looked; Jacque and Bob started back to the car. The punched in track quickly ended and nobody had been across the creek yet. The "hole" getting in and out of the creek bed was about 8 feet but at least it was not a vertical drop. On the way out, tons of people were still coming in. One person asked how far it was to the lake - sometimes there are questions that you just do not want answered. Snowshoe/XC Ski
Issues:
Snow on trail
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Our party of three reached the trailhead around 10:30AM. There was no...
Our party of three reached the trailhead around 10:30AM. There was no snow on the road up till we got to the parking lot. No need for 4WD at this point--there were only a few potholes and only one major one that needed some maneuvering around. Do NOT park in the parking lot though if you don't want to get stuck!
The trail was clear for the first mile or so, with a few patches of minor snow. Snowshoes really aren't necessary on the trail to Talapus Lake; however, since the snow got a little icey, we opted to put ours on in order to use the crampons on the bottom to maintain traction because none of us brought other means of traction this time. There were several snow bridges to cross, one of which was a very small log across a little creek. Use care when crossing that one, as it is very easy to fall in. The snow got deeper as we neared the first lake and then perfect snowshoeing conditions presented itself at Olallie Lake. We did not encounter anyone till we reach the second lake. The trail is very obvious, although I did note a lot of tracks heading off the trail in other directions. We encountered about four other people on our way out. Perfect snowshoe outing! Hiked/snowshoed about 6 miles RT, with 1220ft in elevation gain, and a lot of gorgeous alpine scenery. Multi-night backpack
Issues:
Snow on trail
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Starting at Granite Mountain trailhead my girlfriend, husky, and I hiked to Talapus Lake to camp for the weekend.
Pratt...
Starting at Granite Mountain trailhead my girlfriend, husky, and I hiked to Talapus Lake to camp for the weekend.
Pratt Lake Trail was relatively free of snow/ice until 3000 feet. We put on microspikes at that point and they helped us keep pace. The junction that breaks off to Pratt Lake was well marked. We continued west (Pratt Lake is north) until reaching another sign/junction for Olallie Lake. Just past a challenging stream crossing. The trail to Olallie was less traveled – but we were able to quickly make our way out and even walked across the frozen lake. The hike back from Olallie down to Talapus was well traveled. We put our snowshoes on to keep from post holing here, but the trail was almost packed enough where they were unnecessary. Talapus Lake was quiet and we saw no other campers Saturday or Sunday night. There is about 8-12 inches of snow on the ground, which was becoming increasingly icy with sunshine melting the top layer and re-freezing over night. On Christmas morning we started a hike out to the Island Lakes. The trail to Pratt Lake Basin was well packed and easy to follow. It appeared that the majority of hikers went down into the basin at the fork – we chose to follow the ridge and stay high. We made it about a half-mile of the 1.1 section and we decided to turn back. The tail must have gone up, but it was hard to find. Overall the trip provided spectacular lake scenery and solid winter trails. Overnight
Issues:
Snow on trail
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My wife and I headed up to Lake Olallie for an overnight snowshoe trip. Starting at the Pratt Lake-Granite Mountain...
My wife and I headed up to Lake Olallie for an overnight snowshoe trip. Starting at the Pratt Lake-Granite Mountain parking area, we hit the trail at 11:00 AM. There was not much snow below 3000 feet. We strapped on the snowshoes at the Alpine Lakes Wilderness sign just before the Talapus Lake trailhead sign. We stayed right at the "Y" and followed the path up to the Olallie Lake overlook. We found a decent place to set up camp a couple hundred yards passed the Pratt Lake Trail sign, at about 3PM. Our elevation was 4150'. The NOAA.gov weather forecast called for warm and wet conditions, which was tough to believe as my home in Auburn was in a deep freeze just the day before. But the forecast was right on. The temp was 37 degrees at 6PM, much warmer than ideal. So instead of peaceful snowy night, we got rain. I will respect the NOAA forecast in the future. The overnight rain chewed up the trail pretty good. Let it Snow!
Day hike
Issues:
Mud/Rockslide | Mudholes | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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this is one of our favorite trails but we rarely get to make it because of the road condition. Today...
this is one of our favorite trails but we rarely get to make it because of the road condition. Today was no exception. Off of the exit 45, we were driving toward the trail head bu immediately faced the logging equipment obstacle as the previous hiker reported. Combined with the slush icy/mud, I didnt want to take a chance with my two little girls. Instead we headed on NF9031 but soon found ourselves in a slush/muddy road again. We will have to come back again, and hope for a better road condition.
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Olallie Lake by Day Hike
2011
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